Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Director Acquires $732,836.00 in Stock

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) Director Richard Anderson bought 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $281.86 per share, with a total value of $732,836.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,973,020. This represents a 59.09% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Norfolk Southern Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $281.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $63.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.33. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a 12 month low of $201.63 and a 12 month high of $302.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $285.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.29.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 24.22%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 41.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NSC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $354.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $288.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Norfolk Southern from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Norfolk Southern from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $314.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.70.

Institutional Trading of Norfolk Southern

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 883.3% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 177 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern in the 2nd quarter worth $597,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 682.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 56,012 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,337,000 after buying an additional 48,850 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 116,795 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $29,896,000 after buying an additional 10,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 52.5% in the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 4,441 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. 75.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.